Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device and to a method for quickly grouping picked goods for transport.
Description of the Prior Art
In a plurality of business areas, for example trade with foodstuffs, in particular beverages, dairy products, semi-luxury foods and tobacco, replacement parts and accessories as well as industrial and domestic products, goods are present in unmixed source pallets with identical-type containers, for example crates of identical flavor beverages or trays of identical flavor yoghurts. Mixed target pallets which, depending on the order, include diverse containers which differ in type, size or other parameters, are grouped from the above.
Usually, in this case, an unmixed source pallet is initially singled out in full and its containers are stored in an ordered manner in specific buffers. In this respect, there is the disadvantage that very large buffers have to be provided in order to be able to accommodate all the containers of an unmixed source pallet. Since, for mixed palletization, at least one buffer has to be prepared for each sort of container, such units are not only inflexible but also require a large amount of space.
To group picked goods, goods containers with a plurality of mixed containers are, in turn, to be grouped.
The following devices, among others, have been made known for grouping goods.
WO 2006/065090 A1 makes known a device for storing sheet materials and the unloading thereof, said device has a movable frame with a plurality of holders which lie side by side and move along an X-axis. Said holders are moved vertically by a lift and serve to accommodate the sheet materials.
EP 1 986 941 B1 relates to a pick-and-place apparatus for picking up and repositioning an article carried by a supporting surface. For this purpose, said apparatus includes a first part which has a plate section which is movable parallel to the supporting surface such that a front edge thereof penetrates under the article, between the article and the supporting surface. In addition, said apparatus includes a belt of flexible material which is wound about at least the front edge of the plate section such that it penetrates between the plate and the article when the plate is underneath.
WO 2010/047595 A1 describes an apparatus for stacking products on pallets or roll containers, by way of which products of different geometric dimensions and development are able to be gripped. Said apparatus essentially includes a gripper which is able to be moved between a supplying surface and a loading surface accommodating the product, the gripper having a series of horizontally mounted forks which are arranged in parallel and are pushed under the product in an individually controlled manner.